draliman on life

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

If you were to go to a desert island and could only take five things with you, what would they be?
A pre-fab building, an electric power boat, a load of solar cells to power everything, a gourmet chef and a top-of-the-range entertainment system.

What popular song (any era) best describes you?
I’m sure I’m a mixture of songs. I can’t really think of one off the top of my head, but I’m known to be a bit of a pessimist so I’ll go for “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones.

If you could only use three basic ingredients to make a meal, what would they be?
Minced beef, chillies, tinned tomatoes.

Do you allow your pet on the furniture?
Me no have pets. I used to have cats. Try telling cats to stay off anything.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosed by Di.

Do you prefer tea, coffee or juice first thing in the morning?
I always have coffee. Juice is nice too, but I rarely have any juice in.

When it comes to food, what is your favourite smell?
I’m very traditional! Bacon, ham, a nice roast or baking bread.

Do you prefer a take-out or to dine in a restaurant?
I prefer a take-away (as we call it in this country). Much less hassle, and quieter. It’s nice to go out sometimes, but for preference I’ll eat at home.

If you are hosting a party, do you prepare the food yourself, get caterers in or ask everyone to bring something for the table?
“Get caterers in?” How very upper class, don’t’cha know 🙂 I don’t host parties. For a start I have seating for three (one on the office chair). Maybe two more if they brought camping chairs. Given it’s just a few people, I would do something simple.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di from Pensitivity.

Which of the following could you do without? TV, Computer, Mobile Phone.
Nooooo…..

Pretty much everything can be streamed, and phones and computers can do that and more, so it’s the TV that’ll have to go 😦

Do you have a lot of old photographs in a box, or did you put them in albums?
I have no old photographs in a box. They’re in a bag! Some have been scanned but it takes so long, most haven’t.

What was the first thing you bought for yourself when you started work?
I put together a nice music separates system. First a CD player, amp and speakers, then a radio receiver, record deck and cassette player. Separates systems were the “thing” in the late 80s/early 90s!

What is the biggest thing you have bought that did not require finance?
Hmm, that’s a tricky question – there’s a difference I think between “requires finance” and “didn’t require finance but I used it anyway”…

I generally buy mid-expense stuff using a credit card, as anything over about £100 is covered by the credit card guarantee, where the credit card company will cover you if something goes wrong as a last resort.

So for example, I bought my Wattbike with a credit card rather than savings, for the extra cover.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Do you have family photographs on display in your main living room?
Yes. They’re not of my family though 😉 Don’t worry, nothing weird, it’s my godson and his siblings.

What was the best vehicle you owned? This could be a pushbike as a kid, your first car, a motor cycle, or something else.
My current car, which arrived a couple of months ago. It’s my fourth Fiesta ST. They keep adding more tech and making them more comfortable as technology improves. This one has a digital dashboard!

Did you pass your driving test first time?
Nope. Second time 🙂

Does loud music from a neighbour or passing cars annoy you?
Ha. Don’t even get me started.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di from Pensitivity.

Do you prefer to live in a single storey property like a bungalow, a high rise apartment, or a house?
I live in a house, but would prefer a bungalow, especially as I get older. I’m worried about the stairs. However, bungalows, being singe-storey, take up more space, are more in demand and therefore are terribly expensive.

No way I would want to live in a high rise apartment (or “block of flats” as we in the UK would call them).

If you won a large amount of money on the lottery, would you want publicity or keep things quiet and low key?
I wouldn’t want publicity on anything, especially not if I won a tonne of money. Imagine all the petitions for money which would arrive. I’d have to hire a P.A. just to deal with them all.

How do you like your eggs?
Any which way, I’m a big fan of eggs. In practical terms, I myself fry, boil or scramble them.

If cars were no longer available, what would be your choice of transport?
I’d use all the money I won above to fund transporter/teleporter research and use that.

Here is my post for Share Your World, which this week is hosted by Pensitivity – thanks Pensitivity!

When you’re on holiday, do you prefer self catering or a hotel/B&B?
Self catering is nice sometimes when I’m with someone, but generally I’d go for a hotel if the room is just a base for sleeping.

Do you have a favourite meal you cook for yourself or order when out?
Cajun chicken when I’m out, that and chilli when cooking for myself.

Here’s one I made earlier! Cajun chicken, spiced sweet potato chips and baked beans.

In the current fuel crisis, have you made a conscious effort not to use the car unless absolutely necessary?
Not really – I don’t drive much in general and now that I work from home I don’t use a lot of petrol. I only need to fill the tank once every couple of months or so, if that.

If you were to compare yourself to a plant, what would you be?
I’d be a grand old tree. Doing everything slowly and sedately and being able to see what’s going on everywhere as I tower above the landscape.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Do you ever feel more excited about getting the package in the mail, rather than the item that’s in it?
Not really, I get so much delivered these days. I want the contents.

What is the difference between your ideal self and your real self? (i.e. what attribute or physical feature would allow you feel the ideal ‘you’?)
I would have to say I’d like an absolutely massive… um… er… understanding of humans nature so that I could help others. Yes, um, that’s it. Massive understanding of human nature.

If you found $2,000 on the ground and there were no witnesses, what would you do with it?
Hmm, 2k just lying around for the taking? Sounds a bit iffy to me. Like it’s a “drop”. I would leave it alone, in case it belongs to someone with a name like “Harry ‘The Hammer’ Hanson” or “Charlie ‘Chainsaw’ Chivers”.

No way I want to risk a visit from Nigel “Nad-crusher” Niven.

Are you ever morally obliged to take action? Under what circumstances?
Only according to one’s own morals, I think. Someone shouldn’t feel pressured to take some sort of action based on someone’s else’s moral compass. Who is to say what is morally right, after all?

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

What mythical creature would improve the world most if it existed?
Any mythical creature worth its salt will take one look and run/fly/dimension jump the other way.

A cute sexy little tree nymph living in my garden would improve my world.

Should the death penalty be re-instated? Why or why not?
I’d say no. I found an interactive map which indicates that the death penalty is still used in mainly Muslim countries plus USA.

I’m against it for two reasons – first, there’s always the possibility that the wrong person has been convicted. You can let someone out of prison with an apology, but it’s very difficult to un-hang someone. Second, if someone has committed a really heinous crime I’d rather they languish in a tiny prison cell being slowly eaten by rats than get a quick head-chopping.

Spontaneity Or Stability?
Stability, all the way.

Can a dog/cat suffer? What about an ant? What about a plant? What about a bacteria cell? Why do some humans think we’re the only species that does suffer? Your thoughts?
Suffering/feeling pain happens when a brain processes nerve impulses in a certain way. So anything that has some sort of “awareness” can suffer, I guess. Not sure about plants, though – you’d never cut the grass again! And a bacterium cell – nah.